Minerals, Wealth and Progress - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 41

1.9 CARING FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

Our Natural Resources Consumption

A number of factors are important to consider with regard to our natural resource con-
sumption: (1) the continued population growth; (2) the material consumption patterns of
developed countries increasingly adopted by developing countries; (3) the imbalance in devel-
opment, opportunities, and resource allocation between developed and developing countries;
(4) the correct pricing of natural resources to account for scarcity and environmental and
social costs of natural resource developments; and (5) the efficiency of resource use by indus-
try through adopting best available techniques. These are complex, interlinked issues.

Population Growth
On October 13, 1999 the then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed Earth's sixth
billionth human being at a maternity hospital in Sarajevo. This rather symbolic threshold
signifies a development which carries with it fear of an overpopulated planet that will even-
tually be unable to bear the burden of hosting human civilization as we know it. Over large
areas of Earth's surface we have replaced natural habitats with much simpler ecosystems spe-
cialized for agricultural production and human habitation. Logging, clearance by fire, soil
cultivation, infrastructure development, industrial production, and other human activities
including mining have reduced the richness of ecosystems and species. It is indisputable that
human activities have profound local impacts on the natural environment, including local
communities. What is now becoming clear is that these activities also have global impacts.
These impacts are accepted by most in case of global climate change, or reputational in the
case of accidental or operationally adverse environmental impacts, news that today spreads
worldwide within hours. There is also the increasing fear that we exploit natural resources
at an unsustainable rate, some of them non-renewable in the human time horizon.

It is indisputable that human
activities have profound
local impacts on the natural
environment, including local
communities.

Material Consumption
As the global population increases and the average standard of living advances, so does
our need for minerals. We now use three times as much copper and four times as much
lead and zinc as we did 75 years ago. Not only do we use more traditional minerals, we
also exploit new ones. The increasing need for metals in the developed countries is a need
shared throughout the world. One of the most important developments in the global min-
ing industry in the last decade has been the rapid emergence of China in the world mar-
ket. From a small but significant exporter of minor mineral commodities such as tungsten,
graphite, and magnesite, China has become a significant influence in virtually all the major
mineral markets by virtue of the sheer volumes it is now using, importing, and exporting
during its rapid industrialization. Chinese use accounted for one-third of the entire world
growth in copper use between 1990 and 2000, and 40% of world growth in aluminium use.
China is also the world's largest steel producer and user (MSSD 2002).
The desire to raise global living standards, coupled with a growing world population,
will increase worldwide minerals demand in the future. This demand means that the min-
ing industry - responsible for extracting minerals from the Earth for use in our daily lives -
will continue to be vital and necessary.

Imbalance in Development
There is concern about disparities in the use of mineral products between rich and poor
and the ever-increasing demand, mostly in developed countries. These concerns are height-
ened by the non-renewable nature of mineral resources and fears of eventual depletion.

There is concern about
disparities in the use of mineral
products between rich and poor.